Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel

(This is just a small sample of the BDS actions taking place worldwide. They have become so numerous that time does not permit to post them all.)

IMENC - Danish Companies To Divest From Israel

The Danske and Pensioner Bank (PKA) have decided to withdraw all investments from two Israeli companies, Elbit and Magal Security Systems, for their role in constructing the annexation wall in the occupied West Bank.

Churches and other ecumenical partners of the World Council of Churches (WCC) have received an appeal to "mobilize their members and the public" in resistance to Israel's approval for the construction of 900 new housing units in the Gilo settlement on traditionally Palestinian land in East Jerusalem.

The U.S. pension fund giant, TIAA-CREF, confirmed in statements to the media on Friday that it divested from Africa Israel Investments, owned by Israeli billionaire Lev Leviev, earlier this year. The statements came in response to a letter initiated by a pro-Palestinian group, Adalah-NY, and signed by TIAA-CREF clients.

The Brazilian Parliamentary Commission on Foreign Relations and National Defense has recommended that the parliament should not ratify the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Mercosur and the State of Israel until “Israel accepts the creation of the Palestinian state on the 1967 borders”.

This decision is an explicit act of pressure on the Israeli government to comply with international law, and a rejection of years of incessant Israeli lobbying, pressuring for a vote to ratify the agreement.

When we decided to pull our film Looking for Eric from the Melbourne International Film festival following our discovery that the festival was part-sponsored by the Israeli state,

This decision was taken by three filmmakers, (director, producer, writer) not in some private abstract bubble, but after a long discussion and in response to a call for a cultural boycott from a wide spectrum of Palestinian civil society, including writers, filmmakers, cultural workers, human rights groups, journalists, trade unions, women's groups and student organizations.

Norway's $400 billion-plus wealth fund has excluded Israeli company Elbit Systems (ESLT.TA) for supplying surveillance equipment for the separation barrier in the West Bank, the government said on Thursday.

"We do not wish to fund companies that so directly contribute to violations of international humanitarian law," Finance Minister Kristin Halvorsen said in a statement. [Read annoucement from the Norwegian government]

The World Council of Churches has called for non violent resistance to the Israeli Occupation of Palestine and for the Boycott of Israeli occupation related product and business. Please note paragraphs cited below:

(WCC) /*Invites *member churches and faithful to give moral and practical support to non-violent acts of resistance to the confiscation of land, the destruction of Palestinian properties and the eviction of people from their homes and lands, as the central committee recommended in 2001.

(WCC/*) Reiterates* the need for an international boycott of settlement products and services, for member churches to inform themselves about settlement products imported into their countries and for churches to practice morally responsible investment in order to influence businesses linked to the Israeli occupation and its illegal settlements.

Please note that the WCC includes 349 churches, denominations and fellowships in more than 110 countries and territories throughout the world, representing over 560 million Christians.

HBO TV’s Sex and the City star Kristin Davis was suspended from her duties as Oxfam’s goodwill ambassador for her advertizing work with the illegal settlement-based company Ahava Dead Sea Laboratories...

A source told the New York Post that Davis “was completely unaware of this conflict of interest and is saddened to be on public pause from a group she has devoted so much time, money, and support to." The paper quoted a spokesperson as saying the actress still intends to continue her work with Oxfam "for years to come."

Tikkun - For Once, the Yes Men Say No
Protesting Israeli policies, The Yes Men have withdrawn their highly acclaimed new film from the Jerusalem Film Festival where it was scheduled to be shown.

Dexia Israel Stops Financing Israeli Settlements
The Belgian-French financial group Dexia announced it will no longer finance Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories through its Israeli branch, Dexia Israel..... In the announcement Dexia’s management stated that financing Israeli settlements is against the bank’s code of ethics and it will stop giving loans for settlement construction for this reason.

In the first smashing and convincing victory of the global BDS movement in the field of corporate responsibility and ethical compliance, Veolia is reportedly abandoning the Jerusalem Light Rail project, an illegal project that aims at connecting Israeli colonies built on occupied Palestinian territory to the city of Jerusalem.

The following Motion was adopted at the meeting of Full Council on 19 January 2009:

3) This Council welcomes the UK Government's call for a ceasefire and asks the Leader to write to the Prime Minister urging him to act urgently to ensure:

a) An immediate end to Israel's military assault on Gaza
b) An immediate end to the blockade and siege of Gaza
c) Action to end Israel's violations of international law
d) Support to address the unfolding humanitarian disaster in Gaza.
e) Israel should compensate the victims for the loss of the life and property resulting from this unprincipled aggression

Meeting in Pittsburgh January 15 and 16, UE’s General Executive Board adopted a statement condemning the current war in the Gaza Strip. The union’s national leadership body reiterated the position adopted by delegates to UE’s 70th Convention in 2007, which called for "replacing the lopsided pro-Israel policy of the U.S. with a good faith, even-handed effort to achieve lasting peace between Israel and Palestine based on full justice and mutual respect." The GEB called on the incoming Obama administration to move quickly to initiate such a new policy.

The Service and Food Workers Union Nga Ringa Tota is calling on union members to join protests against the Israeli military aggression towards Gaza.

SFWU Northern Regional Secretary Jill Ovens says many New Zealanders are feeling helpless to stop the massacre of the people in Gaza by the Israelis and we need to find a way to express our outrage.

Students at King's College London are staging a sit-in protest on campus over the treatment of Palestinians in Gaza and the honorary doctorate bestowed on the Israeli president, Shimon Peres.

In the latest of a flurry of occupations at English universities in response to Israel's actions in Gaza, more than 100 students took over a lecture theatre in the university yesterday.

Kings students are demanding that the university issue a formal statement condemning Israel's bombing of Gaza and revoke the honorary doctorate Peres was awarded in November last year.

Federazione Impiegati Operai Metallurgici nazionale (FIOM), the largest metalworkers union in Italy, with 360,000 members called for prosecuting Israeli officials for war crimes and suspension of the European Union Agreement with Israel. FIOM-Cgil (the largest workers federation in Italy) is affiliated to European and international metalworkers federations. The following is a translation of their statement posted on the Union's website.

"Christian Zionism" is a dangerous movement that distorts the teachings of the Church, fosters fear and hatred of Muslims and non-Western Christians, and has negative consequences for Middle East Peace.

A new brochure, Why We Should Be Concerned About Christian Zionism, by the Interfaith Relations Commission of the National Council of Churches (in English and Spanish) is now available as an educational tool for communions, congregations and other groups who want to share these warnings with their members.

Christian Zionism, while ostensibly a Christian movement in support of Israel, actually has the opposite effect. This brochure shows Christian Zionism to be a misguided ideology that considers the State of Israel divinely ordained with the role of ushering in the end of history, where unconverted Jews and Christians of "questionable status" will be judged by God's wrath. In fact, the brochure points out, many evangelical Christians and Israelis reject the notion....

....In its narrowest form, Christian Zionism advocates preserving control of historic Palestine, including Gaza and the West Bank, for the Jewish people alone, rejecting any peace settlement based on a two-state solution.

The European Parliament (EP) today postponed the vote on the proposal by the EU Commission and Council for the draft recommendation to conclude a Protocol to the EU-Israel Association Agreement and on the general principles governing the State of Israel`s participation in Community programmes . The vote was originally scheduled for tomorrow, Thursday, December 4, in the EP in Brussels.

[ For years, Europe and the United States have afforded Israel a variety of economic privileges. For the first time now, the option of making these conditional upon Israeli compliance with human rights conventions and international law is being seriously weighed.]

Switzerland has accused Israel of wantonly destroying Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem and near Ramallah in violation of the Geneva Conventions' rules on military occupation. The Swiss Foreign Ministry demanded that Israel immediately halt the demolitions.

You know the boycott campaign is catching on when an organization rejects Zionist money....

New York, NY, June 19, 2008 – A senior advisor to UNICEF's Director said in a letter today that UNICEF will reject all partnerships with, or financial support from, Israeli billionaire Lev Leviev. Leviev had previously provided UNICEF with support by sponsoring fundraising events in France. Leviev's past support for UNICEF is featured in a number of places on his company's website (www.leviev.com).

DCI-Palestine played an active role in raising this issue with UNICEF: we sent a letter of concern to UNICEF New York headquarters in April, organised meetings with the UNICEF-oPt Country Representative, and met
with the UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa in May. In addition, DCI-Palestine and the Palestinian Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign coordinated a field visit of UNICEF officials to Jayyous, a Palestinian village which has been severely impacted by the construction of a settlement supported by one of Leviev's companies.

Tom Hickey, who teaches philosophy at the University of Brighton, says the motion highlighting the "humanitarian catastrophe imposed on Gaza by Israel" is just shy of a full boycott, The Telegraph said.

The UCU, the largest trade union and professional organization for academics and lecturers working throughout the United Kingdom...

“We advocate for European suspension of the trade association agreement with Israel as a non-violent way to promote Palestinian rights and peace,” stated Feiler, “and this is the message we are taking to parliamentarians and politicians. Diplomats talk, but now is the time for action.”

London School of Economics students vote to divest from Israel

Joining a growing list of high-profile institutions, unions and citizen's groups that have chosen to divest from Israel, the Student Union at the prestigious London School of Economics voted overwhelmingly on Thursday to demand that the University divest.

Doing justice to the Palestinian people would bring about security for Israel, while delaying the end of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories feeds extremism and terrorism, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Michel Sabbah told participants at a church conference for peace in the Middle East yesterday.

The UK's largest trade union, UNISON, advocated on Wednesday a total boycott of Israel over its continued occupation of Palestinian territories.

A statement issued by delegates meeting in Brighton read: "The conference believes that ending the occupation demands concerted and sustained pressure upon Israel including an economic, cultural, academic and sporting boycott".

In addition, delegates called on the British government to press for an arms embargo against Israel.

In a letter appearing in the Guardian on April 21, 2007, prominent UK physicians have called for a boycott of the IMA and its expulsion from the WMA. The letter follows:

".....Persistent violations of medical ethics have accompanied Israel's occupation. The Israeli Defence Force has systematically flouted the fourth Geneva convention guaranteeing a civilian population unfettered access to medical services and immunity for medical staff. Ambulances are fired on (hundreds of cases) and their personnel killed. Desperately ill people, and newborn babies, die at checkpoints because soldiers bar the way to hospital. The public-health infrastructure, including water and electricity supplies, is wilfully bombed, and the passage of essential medicines like anti-cancer drugs and kidney dialysis fluids blocked. In the West Bank, the apartheid wall has destroyed any coherence in the primary health system. UN rapporteurs have described Gaza as a humanitarian catastrophe, with 25% of children clinically malnourished.

LONDON: Britain's biggest journalists' union, The National Union of Journalists, has criticized Israel's "military adventures" and voted narrowly in favor of a boycott of Israeli goods. The vote followed calls by some British academics last year to ostracize their Israeli counterparts. ...

The boycott call was initially part of a broader condemnation of Israel's so-called "slaughter of civilians" in Gaza and "savage pre-planned attack" last year on Lebanon but was separated for a specific vote. The condemnation of Israeli military action in Gaza and Lebanon was approved by a wider margin.

Ha'aretz - Belgian defense min: Israel must pay for cluster bomb cleanup

Belgium's Defense Minister said last week that he would act to extract payment from Israel for the removal of cluster bomb fragments that the Israel Defense Forces fired into Lebanese territory during the Second Lebanon War.

The fact that Zionist influence spreads far beyond Israel's area of dominion and now influences many of the policy making institutions of western governments, and particularly that of the United States, makes it imperative that Israel's oppressive behavior be singled out as a high priority case from among the many other oppressive regimes.

Guardian UK - John Berger rallies artists for cultural boycott of Israel

The celebrated novelist, critic and artist John Berger today calls on British writers and artists to undertake a "cultural boycott" of Israel. In a letter to the Guardian, co-signed by, among others, the artist Cornelia Parker, the musician Brian Eno, and writers Arundhati Roy and Ahdaf Soueif, Berger calls for support for "our Palestinian and Israeli colleagues".

Following the recent war in Lebanon, Ynet has received several complaints from Israeli companies that have encountered refusal of companies from various countries to cooperate with Israelis because of the war.

Haaretz - Irish lecturers call on EU to boycott Israeli universities

Irish academics have called on the European Union in an open letter to impose a moratorium financial support to Israeli academic institutions until Israel ends the occupation in the Palestinian territories.

Stopthewall.org - British Trade Unions: “Tear down the Apartheid Wall”

The Trade Union Council, which represents 66 affiliated unions and nearly seven million workers, passed the motion at its annual conference in Brighton, UK, calling for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from all occupied territories, for the British government and EU to restore funding to the Palestinian Authority and for the Israeli government to restore withheld tax revenues due to the PA.

Irish-Palestine Solidarity Campaign - Irish Tramline forced to cancel Israeli deal

The Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) is delighted to announce a small but significant victory in the international struggle against Connex and the illegal Israeli tramline being built by them on occupied Palestinian territory. .... Veolia has been forced to cancel the proposed deal with its Israeli counterpart following pressure from Irish trade union representatives...

At a press conference held today in South Africa the Palestine Solidarity Committee, COSATU (the Congress of South African Trade Unions representing 1.2 million workers) and the South African Council of Churches called on the South African government to recall the ambassador to Israel and to implement sanctions against Israel.

PACBI - We Don't Need no Occupation, We Don't Need no Racist Wall!

Ramallah -- Reaffirming his commitment to fighting injustice, the world renowned rock star Roger Waters explicitly challenged Israel to “tear down this wall” and end its occupation to achieve real peace.

We here at Jewish Voice for Peace headquarters have been absolutely stunned by the Orwellian headlines and poor reporting about this week's Presbyterian General Assembly vote to use economic pressure to end the occupation.

America's largest Presbyterian church voted to continue policies of economic engagement in the Middle East. It affirmed its willingness to use its investment policies to press for peace in Israel-Palestine. The vote came two years after it's overwhelmingly support of a phased, selective divestment from Israel.

PACBI - British Academics Vote for Boycotting Israeli Apartheid

Today, British academics proved once again that they are up to the challenge of meeting injustice with the powerful message of civil resistance that boycott represents. The National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education (NATFHE) voted for an academic boycott of Israel in response to its “apartheid policies.”